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2/25/15

I wanted to share this handwriting paper I made with my younger two kiddos in mind. It helps with visual discrimination so they can clearly see how to size letters. The closed-in rectangles (rather than lines open at the ends) also help them clearly identify where one writing space ends and a new one begins. This is helpful to young writers and children with visual-motor issues who may have trouble staying within the correct margins. My son Max has this problem, and this paper has really helped him.

Max uses it to do his dictation with All About Spelling(affiliate link) and for general handwriting practice. The lines of the paper are long enough that he is able to write words with those classic Kindergarten-y large letters, and can still fit a short sentence or phrase on one line. If you have a little one who could benefit from this writing paper, you can download it for free by clicking the link or the image below.

2/11/15

A couple years ago, we did a Dr Seuss author study and series of Seuss literature units. It was SO much fun! For a while now, I have wanted create a single post where the whole week could be accessed in one place. So here it is! We had a different Dr Seuss book as our theme each day. We made all of our activities center around the particular "book of the day." For each of the books listed below, we did several language arts activities, math, writing prompt, snacks and some just plain fun stuff that went along with our theme! My favorite part of the week was my new reader discovering that he can read The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham!!

For The Cat in the Hat, we played "catch Thing One and Thing Two in a net," had a "Cat's Hat" pizza for lunch and a fun themed snack, themed addition practice, striped hat spelling practice (at different levels), and much more! Click the link above to read about all of our Cat in the Hat activities!

Green Eggs and Ham is a book we all love dearly at our house. We did a fun experiment to teach the kids not to judge something before you have tried it (which was more fun for me to watch than it was for them to experience!), we had themed snack, play dough, rhyming, and more! I think this was my favorite day of Dr. Seuss Week.

For the sake of going over-the top with this whole Seuss week thing, my husband took the day off of work and surprised the kids to find that he would be their teacher for the day instead of Mom! We ate dinner for breakfast (under the table), and breakfast for dinner, created wacky words, and tried to make the whole day as wacky as possible!!

2/6/15

I've been obsessed with this craft since I first saw them here. It is so simple, no glue, great fine motor exercise, and turn out beautiful! I love how the coffee filters look like flowers, so attaching them to hearts make this a perfect Valentine's Day craft.

What you need:

Cardboard or cardstock (We used cardstock, but I think cardboard would have worked better).

pencil

coffee filters (dyed or not dyed)

Cut the card into a heart shape and use a pencil to poke holes in it.

Fold the coffee filter in half several times, then twist the bottom. (I ripped some of the filters in half before folding so they "flowers" would be in various sizes, and I liked the way it turned out when I did that). You'll want to twist the folded filter at least half way up to create a "stem."

Then just pull the "stem" through one of the holes and fluff.

Both pulling and the fluffing offer great fine motor practice.

That's it!

I think this one came out just lovely. I love the way the red peeks through!

Here's the flip side when you're done. I cut and taped some down so we could tack them on a bulletin board.

2/4/15

Today I'm sharing a printable rhyming activity that doubles as cutting practice. Rhyming helps children distinguish the sounds in a word, which builds the ability to "sound out" words later on. It is an important pre-reading skill, but it can be a tricky concept for many preschoolers. My son learned his letter sounds at a young age, but struggled with rhyming for a while. My daughter also struggled with it for a while, but it is just starting to "click" for her now. She needs practice though, so I came up with this simple activity for her.

I asked Corinne to cut the page into strips first.

For each strip, she identified the rhyming words and colored them in.

Then I asked her to cut out the non-rhyming word and get it out of there!

I tried to make a big deal about getting rid of the word that doesn't belong, and she really got into it. (I may or may not have done the "Uncle Joey" Cut.It.Out gag).

She decided to keep her rhyming words in her crayon box and her "cut it out" words outside the box.

She decided to cut out the rhyming words even if they ended up attached after cutting the non-rhyming word off. So we decided to play a game of memory with the pictures!

There are five pages like the one shown, so you could have up to 15 pairs if you wanted to make a bigger game of Memory from the cut-outs.

1/27/15

We have been playing a lot of sight word tic tac toe lately! We have tried four different versions of the game, and what I love about all four versions is that they offer a multisensory approach to learning. That means the games appeal to visual, auditory and tactile learners alike. Better yet, the three senses are are simultaneously stimulated while playing, so the information is more likely to be stored in memory.

Tactile learners get to write the word or manually manipulate an X or O… Visual learners get to see the word written several times on the game board (or on flash card or word bank, depending on which version you go with)... Auditory learners benefit when players read the word in play aloud.

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support.

Here's a look at the different versions we've tried:

Reading-only version

Write sight words/spelling words on a tic-tac-toe grid. Players take turns to read a word, then cover it with either an X or an O post-it.

You could also leave the game grid blank and write spelling words on the post-its instead of X's and O's.

Young children whose particular learning objective is to read sight words but not necessarily memorize how to spell them. I do not expect my preschool or Kindergarten level kiddos to memorize the spelling of sight words. It's great if they DO, but my goal for them is just to be able to read them in a sentence with fluency. This game is a great way to practice!

Children who do not like to write or are not yet able to write the words. All they have to do is read the word and stick on a post-it, no writing required! My middle child was ready to read long before he was able to write efficiently, so I know the value of games like this!

One word per player

Similar to traditional tic-tac-toe, but in this version each player choses just one spelling/sight word to write. The object is to write your word rather than an "x" or an "o." The first player to get three of his words in a row is the winner.

This version is best for…

Young learners who are having trouble with a word, or to introduce new words. This version offers lots of repetition for a particular word. Max got 5 new sight words for the week, so we played several times so he would get to write all of his new words a few times.

Word Bank

Create a word bank of 9 spelling/sight words and gather writing utensils in two different colors.

Each player will choose a color to write with.

When it is your turn, choose a word from the word bank and write it in a game space (in your chosen color).

The first player to get three in a row is the winner!

This version is best for...

Reviewing past spelling words.

Words that have a similar spelling pattern, the repetition offers lots of practice. This version is used in the Ready2Read program to practice word families (for example, -at words such as cat, bat mat). We worked on long U words and discussed which were pronounced with the full U sound, versus the /oo/ sound.

Flash Card Version

Prepare the game: you may need to make some word cards from index cards if you do not have flashcards (we used our All About Spellng word cards). Then either laminate the game board, use a page protector, or a dry erase center so that misspelled words can be erased. We used our Crayola Dry Erase Center-- it makes erasing much easier.

Once your game board is ready, make sure you have a different color writing utensil for each player, pile cards face-down, and you are ready to play!

To play, choose a card, read it, and spell it out loud...

Then hand the card to your opponent.

Spell the word by memory, while your opponent holds the card to check your spelling. Remember, each player should write in a different color to help keep track of who wrote each word.

We made it a rule that if anyone misspells a word, he would have to erase it and his opponent may then write in that space if desired. They definitely double checked every word, hoping to catch a mistake for a better chance to win! If I'm playing, I misspell words on purpose just to keep them on their toes and make them REALLY look at every word and its spelling.

This version is best for...

Mixed review of past and current sight/spelling words.

Of the four versions we tried, I think this one is the most beneficial because it requires spelling from memory, and it gets the child interested in his opponent's words as well as his own.

Free Printables!
If you would like to print the three Word Tic-Tac-Toe game boards, along with printable instructions for each version described in this post, click the link below:

1/22/15

Harold and the Purple Crayon was our Five in a Row selection for the week. This book presents a lovely opportunity to explore creativity, especially in writing and drawing. We enjoyed some inspiring go-along books with an art theme, and made creativity our primary focus of the week.

Snack and Story Time

We started the first day of our row after lunch. We changed into purple shirts, snuggled on the couch to read Harold (and other books that inspire creativity), and ate purple crayon cookies!

Progressive Setting and Story Telling

After we read the book, we discussed Crockett Johnson's choice to use a progressive setting. We learned that a progressive setting is one that changes and develops throughout the story, as opposed to a fixed setting.

We moved into the schoolroom so the kiddos could try creating a progressive setting of their own. They each got their own long roll of easel paper taped to the floor to create their story settings.

They each walked along their creations and told a story to go along with their purple drawings. Here are some of my favorite experts from each of their stories:

Sam and the Purple Crayon:

"He looked up on the beautiful sky, and didn’t look where he was drawing! He drew a turn by accident. He fell down with the purple crayon drawing right next to him. Then he drew some ground."

Max and the Purple Crayon:

"First Max was perfect in the crayon world." "….then I went on a boat then I had dinner with a skunk and a giraffe. Then the skunk farted. (Do you see the skunk spray?)." "….He didn’t know which window would be his so he made a bunch of windows. Then he asked a dentist (dentists are really smart in this) and he said that the tallest building could be his. So he went in the tallest building and he made the bed and fell right asleep. He dreamt of more excitement that he would have in the morning."

Literary Devices- Puns

We discussed how writers can bring humor to their stories through the use of puns. In the book, Harold "made" his bed (by drawing it) and "drew" up the covers. We added "puns" to our FIAR notebook builder as one of the "Tools Writers Use."

Choices Artists can Make:

Perspective-Vanishing Point

The first art lesson we learned from Harold was creating Perspective using a vanishing point. Harold did it when he created a path to walk on in the beginning of the book. (Note: There is not a page in the FIAR Notebook builder like the one below, I made this one to better fit our needs).

Foreshortening
We also learned about foreshortening but did not include it in the notebook. In the book, Harold drew a picnic blanket, using a foreshortened square (which is more of a diamond shape when drawn) to create depth and the illusion that the blanket was laying on the ground.

We looked at the picture in the book and in the examples in the FIAR manual and discussed it, but they were not interested in trying the technique for themselves.

Pie Picnic
In the story, Harold has a picnic with just pie (but it was the nine types of pie Harold liked best!) We laid out a vinyl tablecloth and I set out the ingredients (pudding and graham cracker crusts) for the nine pies of our own pie picnic. Sam made most of them, but each kid made at least one. You might notice that there are only eight pies in the photo. Yes, one was eaten before I had a chance to snap a pic!

Later we had the art lesson mentioned above about foreshortening, since it was about the way Harold drew the picnic blanket. I had planned to also do a lesson on fractions to go with the pie picnic theme, but we didn't get to it.

Window Markers
We bought someCrayola Washable Window Markers(affiliate link) recently, and the kids had a ball drawing on the window! I thought it kind of complimented the part of the story where Harold is searching for his bedroom window.

For spelling practice, I asked Sam to write his daily sentences on the window instead of paper. I thought it would be a fun way to incorporate our Harold/art theme and break up the sentence writing monotony. He was excited about the idea of it, but grew tired of it quickly. He only wrote a couple sentences and didn't want to do it the rest of the week. He would much rather draw pictures- go figure!

Story Sequencing Cards

We made some DIY story sequencing cards to go along with the story. I simply photo copied several pages from the book onto cardstock and cut them out. Since the illustrations are so simple, it doesn't take much ink.

I gave each of my kiddos a few cards to hold as I began to read the story. They had to listen carefully, and when I read a page that described one of the picture cards they were given, they got to put it down on the floor. I did't get a photo, but we put them all in a line in sequential order. It's a fun way for kids to interact with a story, gain comprehension, and improve listening skills. This was definitely a favorite activity of the unit!

Sam and I cut out the cards together and we ended up with a bunch of text cards. So I decided to use those too!

The object was to spread out the picture cards, draw a text card and read it, then match it to a picture card. I liked this activity because it keeps a certain someone from relying too heavily on the illustrations to "guess" the text. (Note: the key words here are "too heavily." It is beneficial for children to use illustrations to figure out words they find difficult as a reading strategy).

Preschool Trays:

Purple Crayon Play Dough- Made with purple crayons!

We used the crayon play dough recipe from Sugar Aunts, which uses crushed crayons as the coloring for the play dough. Could there be a more perfect craft for a Harold unit??

I took the photo of the tray and activity after it had been enjoyed many times! It includes a moon (because everywhere Harold went, the moon went with him), a P to make "Purple Play Dough P's and review the /p/ letter sound.

Beginning letter sound worksheet- colored with a purple crayon!

I have the whole alphabet of letter sound coloring pages from The Measured Mom printed out. We are not doing letter of the week, but when the opportunity comes up to reinforce a letter sound, I like to pull one of these out!

Fine Motor:Cityscape Cutting Practice

In the book, Harold drew a city full of buildings (and windows), hoping to find the window to his bedroom. To go along with the city scene in the story, I drew a quick cutting practice page for Corinne.

The wide rectangles create simple straight lines for easy cutting (using card stock helps too). As she cut, the upper portion of the paper got in her way, so I cut it off for her. After that, she was ready for some serious cutting practice!

Tracing Harold's "waves" with a purple crayon

I chose several wave-like patterns for Corinne to trace with a purple crayon. The "waves"are intended to mimic the scene where Harold's shaking hand accidentally creates water. I got thesePrewriting practice printables from 3 Dinosaurs. There are many tracing pages to choose from, and they are all free! I find them to be useful as an activity Corinne to do alone, alongside her brothers. She loves to sit at the table and do work with the older kids!

I wrote a separate post about this tray. I really didn't realize how much could be learned from this very simple activity until I began writing about it! If you would like to read about the skills Corinne used, please check out Harold and the Purple Crayon Window Counting.

About Me

Hi there! I'm Tanya, a homeschooling mom of three who is passionate about hands-on learning. This lil' blog is where I like to share inspiration for fun educational activities, sensory play, kid's crafts... and perhaps my personal thoughts and experiences as I take on the role of both Mom and Teacher. Thanks so much for stoppin' by!